Fight fair.

THIS is not so easy. I don't know about you, but this second tenet from Craig and Amy Groeschel's From This Day Forward (please check yesterday for more details) counsel to fail-proof your marriage made me want to throw it against the wall. I can either fight, or I can be fair; it is painful to be both, especially lately. I mean, I want to believe I fight fair when I considered a matter worth fighting at all ... but no. Sometimes I'm just not sure what I am supposed to be fighting about -- I have way less concern about who does what in our household so much as our being able to trade off chores without us each begging the other one to do it sometimes.


Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader teach us: Don't try to force your kids to follow in your footsteps.




So last night I picked up the kids at Grandma and Grandpa's and we got home to dinner -- which Monday nights is usually whatever we can find there -- and caught up with the latest episode of Once Upon A Time, "Labor of Love" which introduced us to Hercules. Son of Zeus, strongest man in the world of Greek myth, and I'd forgotten nephew of Hades, the man in charge of the Underworld. And unlike the Disney animated movie, Hercules did not win against him and both he and Meg were killed by Hades' pet three-headed dog Cerberus. So I'm oversimplifying here, but with Snow and Emma's help both Hercules and Meg complete their unfinished business and proceed to Olympus.


Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup, and Professor Utonium teach us: Even kindergarteners have the power to save the day.


To be quite fair, Hades is fighting fairer right now than Emma, Snow, and Company. You've got people in your land and you don't want them to leave and they shouldn't leave because they're dead, where do they go? And he implies when he first meets Emma and crew that the faux-Storybrooke the Underworld's been appearing as is that way -- at least looks that way to them -- for a reason. But I digress, railheads. What can I say, it's part of the geek in me (that I may want to tone down a bit; my beloved Martha on the other hand is more of one than she admits), and as I promised to get into geek parenting this week, let me start now.


Sam, Dean, and John Winchester teach us: The world is full of monsters. Make sure your kids know what they look like.


Got the proof copy of Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu's Geek Parenting (ISBN 9781594748707) and read it through, and essentially what Joffrey, Jor-el, Maleficent, and the McFlys teach us about raising a family is just the tip of the iceberg! You'll recognize TV, movie, and fantasy references from all over the map that the author in two-page maximum essays -- some you'll recognize, some you'll say WHAT THE HECK -- use to point out something to do or not do as a parent based on ... well, being a parent. It's hard to pin down a favorite tip, so I've used several in my text today between the paragraphs; the references you'll have to look up yourselves.


Peter and Meredith Quill teach us: Sharing your life's soundtrack with your kids is awesome.


I'm sorry this book isn't available until next month, but I'm sure you will find something great in it! As for Railhead (the proof copy I read by Philip Reeve, ISBN 9781630790486) which came out last year, put Frank Herbert's Dune, Frederik Pohl's Gateway, Dan Simmons' Hyperion series, and Disney Channel's Chuggington into a blender and hit frappe! Zen Starling's the young thief who habitually travels via space train (hence a "railhead") the Great Network among most inhabited worlds of the galaxy, and he's hired through a Motorik, a robot to do the disgusting stuff, to steal an object from the Emperor's train. And of course this get way more complicated, but it will keep you going!


Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Splinter teach us: Choose your battles wisely, as a ninja should.


What DOES a marshmallow smell like? Sarah asked me that this morning before school because at the school store they're selling some new flavors of "smencils", pencils whose tops smell like a certain kid-popular item. Evidently five new brands are out and she and Jeffrey are interested in buying some; while I'm typing, I'm looking up what a marshmallow smells like, and the definition I see is that it "consists of sugar, water, and gelatin whipped to a spongy consistency". (Wikipedia) It may not smell like much of anything, and I don't remember what I told Sarah but she seemed content with my answer. Got the kids showered, garbage taken out, and out the door! I'll take it.  


Akio, Yuko, and Chihiro Ogino teach us: When the kids are eager to spirit you away from bad habits, pay attention.


Sarah mentioned something at dinner Saturday about Mom and I sniping each other, and we covet your prayers for we want that to stop -- it's not fair to either one of us. Perhaps that's the first step to take in learning to fight fair. Not sure I would sic the three spirits who had visited ME twenty years early to encourage me to keep Christmas in every way as Ebenezer Scrooge does in Charlie Lovett's novel The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge (ISBN 9780525429104) on his nephew Fred, the bankers, and Bob Cratchit ... but then, we who have fallen have a long way to climb back up. Sometimes we just need someone outside our experience to show us the way.


No what the dickens about it.


David